ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport driver Lucas di Grassi has said never giving up was the key to his remarkable podium at the Hong Kong ePrix.
The Brazilian driver had one of the most hectic races of his career in Hong Kong. Starting 19th on the grid, di Grassi was involved in the carnage at turn one, had to pit for a new nose, yet was somehow able to finish the race in second place.
An honest Lucas di Grassi had this to say about the race: “To be completely honest it just shows that you should never give up and we never did. I actually had a pretty good start and then Ma crashed into somebody and then I crashed into the crash! So I broke the nose and had to pit.
“The team did a fantastic job (changing the nose) and I got on the lead lap which is good here as it is a short lap here. On the radio I was asking are we racing, are we going for fastest lap? My engineer said no don’t give up and keep pushing.”
The safety car period did aid the Brazilians recovery, but it was still a remarkable driver nonetheless as he crossed the line with barely any energy left.
“The Safety Car came and it came early so we had nothing to lose,” said di Grassi. “So I stopped one lap before Seb and then I had to conserve all this energy and that is why I had to use less and it was pointless fighting him because we had different targets at that stage. I just had to save [energy] and we did it but at the end on the last lap instead of the [chequered] flag there was just a last lap board and I wasn’t sure if we finished but I heard the team celebrating on the radio so I knew we had made it.”
